The Steelers found the Packers defense much tougher than what the Saints threw at them last week.  Ben Roethlisberger completed both of his pass attempts for 14 yards but he also lost a fumble after getting sacked which the Packers recovered.  Charlie Batch replaced him and he looked good again as he completed 3 of 5 passes for 97 yards including a 41 yard TD pass to WR Walter Young.  Brian St. Pierre must have used up all of his magic last week as he only completed 10 of 23 passes for 99 yards last night.  Undrafted rookie running back Gary Russell had another huge game for the Steelers as he carried the ball 9 times for 56 yards (6.2 ypc).  Najeh Davenport (7 car, 34 yards, 4.9 ypc) and Kevan Barlow (6 car, 25 yards, 4.2 ypc) both played well also for the Steelers lat night.  WR Walter Young led the way for the Steelers’ receivers with 2 grabs for 50 yards (25.0 avg) with a TD and Santonio Holmes added 1 grab for 49 yards.  The Steelers ran the ball well as they toted the rock 28 times for 132 yards (4.7 ypc) but they didn’t pass to well completing 15 of 30 passes for 177 yards.

The defense didn’t look as sharp as they did against the Saints either.  The Packers ran the ball 31 times for 124 yards (4.0 ypc) and they completed 21 of 36 passes for 182 yards. 

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/live/NFL_20070811_GB@PIT

Dan Kreider has been a key part in the Steelers’ running game for a long time now despite rarely getting the football because he is a great lead blocker.  He played in 16 games (12 starts) last season for the Steelers and he carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 62 yards (7.8 avg).  Kreider has now played in 103 games (62 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 30 times for 142 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 59 passes for 456 yards (7.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  John Kuhn will back up Kreider this season.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) as a rookie last year and he carried the ball 2 times for 18 yards (9.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 15 yards.

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked great on Sunday Night in their demolition of the New Orleans Saints.  The Steelers controlled the clock for 35:57 and they amassed 413 total yards of offense.  Ben Roethlisberger (2 for 3, 73 yards) and Charlie Batch (4 for 6, 51 yards) both got their work in quick and they both looked good.  But Sunday belonged to third stringer Brian St. Pierre.  St. Pierre completed 8 of 14 passes for 129 yards with 1 TD pass.  Running back Carey Davis had a monster game with 7 carries for 68 yards (9.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 32 yards (16.0 avg).  Still, Davis remains a very long shot to make the Steelers.  Undrafted rookie Gary Russell also was outstanding with 8 carries for 41 yards (5.1 ypc).  Cedric Wilson was fantastic with 4 grabs for 99 yards (24.8 avg) as he seems to be gaining on Santonio Holmes.  Holmes also had a good showing with 3 grabs for 48 yards (16.0 avg) and a TD.

The Steelers defense was outstanding Sunday Night.  They held the Saints to 214 total yards of offense.  The Saints ran the ball 24 times for 82 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 13 of 30 passes for 132 yards passing. 

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270805018

Jeff Reed had another bad season last year for the Steelers.  He only made 74.1% of his field goal attempts last season but he converted all 41 extra points.  What really hurt the Steelers last season was his field goal kicking which could have gotten the Steelers to the playoffs if it was just a tad better.  He made 15 of 19 field goals of 39 yards or less and he made 5 of 8 field goals of 40+ yards.  It will be interesting to see if Coach Tomlin will trust Reed a little more than Cowher did last season.  Reed finished the 2006 season with 101 points.

Reed has now played in 70 career games in the NFL and he has scored 503 points which is good for 7.2 points per game.  He has made 112 of 140 (80%) field goal attempts and 167 of 169 extra points.